Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board Earns Best Retail Innovation Award from National Industry Publication

HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 26, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) today announced it won Best Retail Innovation in the 2017 StateWays Control States Best Practices Awards for its rapid response to the retail changes brought about by Act 39 of 2016.

In presenting the award, StateWays recognized the PLCB for quickly and efficiently expanding Fine Wine & Good Spirits store hours on Sundays and holidays, as well as implementing sales of Pennsylvania Lottery tickets. 

Prior to Act 39, Pennsylvania law limited both the number of stores that could be open on Sundays and the hours stores may operate on Sundays. The weekend after Act 39 took effect, the 188 stores that had already been open on Sundays saw store hours expanded by three additional hours. Between early August, when the new law took effect, and late September, more than 300 stores were open on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores were also open for the first time last year on holidays including Martin Luther King Jr., Day, President's Day, Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, offering consumers additional convenience.

Act 39 of 2016 also lifted restrictions prohibiting Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores from selling Pennsylvania Lottery tickets. Two days after the act went into effect on Aug. 8, 2016, 24 stores were selling lottery tickets through convenient self-service, touchscreen terminals. By October 2016, more than 300 stores had Lottery machines installed and operational. As Act 39 marked its one-year anniversary in August, 318 Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores were selling Lottery tickets and had collectively generated more than $10 million in Lottery sales.

StateWays recognized the work the PLCB did to implement those changes in a short two-month timeframe.

"Act 39 of 2016 brought about dramatic changes to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, but we embraced the challenge and worked hard to bring additional conveniences to our customers as quickly as possible. Receiving this award from a national publication confirms our team did an outstanding job," said Board Chairman Tim Holden. "We are pleased and proud to share this recognition with our employees, and with the people of Pennsylvania who benefit from these retail improvements."

StateWays, the only national magazine devoted to the issues and subjects affecting control state systems, established its Control State Best Practices Awards in 2015 to recognize control state agencies that are leading the industry in innovation, education and enforcement. Winners, including the PLCB as the winner of the Best Retail Innovation award, are featured in the September/October issue of StateWays.

The PLCB was named Overall Winner in the 2016 StateWays Control States Best Practices Awards, an honor that recognized Pennsylvania as a leader in the beverage alcohol industry for its innovations in retail, wholesale operations, alcohol education, technology, and regulatory affairs.

The PLCB regulates the distribution of beverage alcohol in Pennsylvania, operates more than 600 wine and spirits stores statewide, and licenses 20,000 alcohol producers, retailers, and handlers. The PLCB also works to reduce and prevent dangerous and underage drinking through partnerships with schools, community groups, and licensees. Taxes and store profits – totaling $15.1 billion since the agency's inception – are returned to Pennsylvania's General Fund, which finances Pennsylvania's schools, health and human services programs, law enforcement, and public safety initiatives, among other important public services. The PLCB also provides financial support for the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, other state agencies, and local municipalities across the state. For more information about the PLCB, visit www.lcb.pa.gov.

MEDIA CONTACTS: PLCB - Elizabeth Brassell, 717.783.886
                                   StateWays – Jeremy Nedelka, 203.855.8499 extension 2213

SOURCE Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board